Matt writes: This month has marked the fiftieth anniversary of Arthur Penn's 1967 masterpiece, "Bonnie and Clyde." While many critics at the time were baffled and offended by the picture, Roger Ebert awarded it four stars, writing, "This is pretty clearly the best American film of the year. It is also a landmark. Years from now it is quite possible that 'Bonnie and Clyde' will be seen as the definitive film of the 1960s, showing with sadness, humor and unforgiving detail what one society had come to. The fact that the story is set 35 years ago doesn't mean a thing. It had to be set sometime. But it was made now and it's about us." Later that year, he wrote a piece taking on the film's naysayers, and in 1998, Ebert inducted "Bonnie and Clyde" into his Great Movies series. To commemorate the film's anniversary, writers at RogerEbert.com offered their reflections on the film's legacy.

Sheila writes: In Roger Ebert's Great Movies review of Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," he writes: "The technique of slow motion is familiar to audiences, who usually see it in romantic scenes, or scenes in which regret and melancholy are expressed--or sometimes in scenes where a catastrophe looms, and cannot be avoided. But Scorsese was finding a personal use for it, a way to suggest a subjective state in a POV shotPOV shot...one of Scorsese's greatest achievements in 'Taxi Driver' is to take us inside Travis Bickle's point of view." I came across a wonderful video that shows Scorsese's storyboards for "Taxi Driver" alongside the actual filmed scenes.

Sheila writes: An exciting bit of news from last week: Paramount has launched its own Youtube channel called The Paramount Vault, with hundreds of movies from their archives. streaming for free. So far, not too many classic films, but other than that, it's a goldmine. Check out The Paramount Vault Youtube channel. Here's the channel's fun sizzle reel.

Sheila writes: I'll have more information for you about the upcoming Rogerebert.com Google Hangout in the next couple of days. There will be scheduled discussion topics, one of the first ones being about "Life Itself," Steve James' wonderful documentary about the life and work of Roger Ebert. Additionally, June 18 is Roger's birthday, and be sure to check out Rogerebert.com that day for the special features going up to commemorate. Thanks, as always, for being Ebert Club members! In case you missed it, here is the official trailer for "Life Itself."

Distribution company Olive Films
has released two obscurities by Jean-Luc Godard, 1976's "Comment Ca Va" and 1987's "Soigne ta Droite"
(known in the U.S. as "Keep Your Right Up") and while these films may
not have the immediate impact of his better-known works, they both
reveal a filmmaker who has spent his career challenging himself, his viewers
and the very medium of cinema itself in ways that are oftentimes
fascinating and frustrating in equal measure.